


Sore

by MidnightSkydancer



Series: Vevie-Verse [2]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: AU, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Female Eddie Brock, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Oneshot, Venom AU, Workout fic, female eddie, genderbent au, suggestive massage, that's what my friends called it so that's the tag I'll use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 20:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19034725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightSkydancer/pseuds/MidnightSkydancer
Summary: Evie begins to build up her own strength and Venom gives her an out of this world massage.





	Sore

**Author's Note:**

> This used to be a three-chapter fic with plans for more chapters, however I realized this was a full oneshot by itself and didn't fit as the beginning of my Vevie (Venom/Evie) fic. So I took out the prologue and combined the other two chapters into one. ;) Enjoy!

Over the months following their move, Evie had begun making a lot of decisions, mostly for her physical and mental health. Some of these decisions came from Venom’s prompting, but many she made on her own. Her newest resolution was to join a coach-led cross fit gym. Evie explained to Venom she used to be part of one back in her junior year of college. She stopped going a year before prior to her and Anne’s fallout.

It had now been almost two years since Evie’s last real workout, and her body was definitely showing the signs of being pretty out of shape. Even though Venom was the one doing the actual physical activity, Evie was still sore after every fight, climb, run, etc. The symbiote always helped with her aching muscles by flooding her brain with feel-good chemicals to numb the pain, but they knew that was just a temporary fix; not something for all the time. Like taking pain medication too often, not the best thing to keep doing.

Thus her decision to start working out again.

The cross fit gym (called a box for some reason she could never remember) wasn’t too far from her apartment. They could even walk to it if the weather wasn’t terrible. Thankfully it was pretty decent their first morning, just a little chilly, light jacket weather. Evie braided her brunette hair, donned some old workout clothes she found in a forgotten box, and hit the road. 

On the way, Evie explained to Venom that this was a “her” thing, not a “them” thing. She would need to do every exercise herself without his super strength assisting. Usually whenever she tried to lift a heavy object (especially during the move) or attempted any other strenuous activity, Venom would take over party to help. It was just how they did things. Therefore, this was her chance to be independent.

Venom listened quietly. Something seemed to be bothering him, but Evie didn’t know what. Maybe he was just nervous about the gym? She smiled softly. _Don’t worry, I was nervous my first few times at cross fit too. But it does get easier._

 **_Not worried, Evie. Just being quiet…_ ** **_curious to watch this human ritual._ **

His voice sounded normal, but his emotions betrayed him. Venom was definitely nervous, but Evie decided against prying. Instead they slipped into silence during the rest of the walk.

~~~ 

That silence lasted almost five minutes into the warmup exercises. Thirty seconds into working out on the rowing machine to be exact.

**_This is pointless._ **

The booming voice in her head almost caused Evie drop the rowing handle. Venom could sometimes be so quiet that suddenly hearing him made her jump.

 _What?_

**_There’s no reason for us to do this “exercising”, it’s a waste of time. Time we could be using for better things. Like finding food._** He practically vibrated in anticipation of eating a “nice and juicy” head.

 _Mhm, yeah well weren’t you just complaining about my “frail human body” recently?_ Evie raised an eyebrow and picked up the pace again.

 ** _Term of endearment,_** he quipped. **_Like parasite._**

 _Pff, I haven’t called you that in long time, dude. Regardless, this is how I’m going to work on being independent and getting stronger. You know, lose some of that tater tot and chocolate weight, get super buff. Just wait, maybe next time it’ll be me helping_ you  _lift a heavy box._ She grinned at the mental image.

If he realized that last part was a joke, Venom ignored it. Instead he seemed… frustrated? Confused? Evie was still trying to properly understand the feelings that flowed from him. Over the past few months, her ability to recognize his different emotions was improving. But since Evie was habitually seeking out new situations to improve her life, she was met with new emotions from Venom. It was easier to decode the positive emotions, but Evie thought this one indicated hurt feelings.

 _You ok, bud? You’ve been acting weird ever since I told you about this place._ She was met with uncertain silence. _C’mon, please talk to me._

Leaving his usual spot at the back of her head, Venom spread throughout her shoulders. Possessively hugging her under the skin. **I’m _strong for us, Evie. You have no need to be. We will always protect us. You don’t need to be independent and leave. Just rely on our strength._**

Oh, he didn’t think she was trying to be independent. Venom thought she was preparing to be independent from _him_. Did he think this was all so she could leave him? Evie halted the machine and took a breath. 

 _Yes, you will protect me; I know that._ Evie directed her mental focus to where he was nestled. _It’s not that I don’t trust you to protect me.  You realize that, don’t you? I want to be strong for me. Not so I can leave you, but so I can be strong withyou. I want to have my own strength and be in shape._

Silence. Sometimes it was like that, where it took a bit for Venom to process her human emotions just like she tried to process his. Evie felt him thinking and decided to leave him be for a bit. It was time for her to move on from the rowing anyway and head over to the next section.

She reached down to release her feet from the “stirrups” before walking over by the equipment shelves to pick up two kettle bells. She already heard she’s need them later. Deciding on the weight with the pink stripe (yes, simply because they were pink; stop judging), Evie brought them over to one end of the room where she had left her things at the start of the class. 

There were still a couple minutes left on the clock until the coach would start the timer for the next group exercise. Evie used that time to take a swig from her water bottle and wipe her face with a hand towel.

Venom’s voice trickled in soothingly, like a caress.  ** _We like you in this shape. Comfortable. Good for us._**

His voice was soft, comforting. Something about his tone made her feel good inside. Appreciated.

She paused with the towel still over her face and could swear was blushing slightly. _Well, um, thank you Ven._ No one had complimented her size before. Er, at least she hoped it was a compliment.

**_Welcome. Now can we go find heads to eat?_ **

Evie rolled her eyes and put the towel back. Way to kill the moment bud.

The symbiote reacted with confusion. **_What? Now that you’re not going to get buff we can leave._**

Before she could respond with a sarcastic comeback, the coach told the group to sit in a circle as he began leading them through a series of stretches. The last one had her practically lying on the floor with one leg crossed under her chest. It was then she had a chance to resume “talking”.

_Ven, this isn’t just about body positivity. It’s also…hhm…_

She didn’t want to bring up those memories again, but they came anyway. Full force and complete with the real-time emotions they both experienced back then. The fight with Riot, being forcefully ripped apart, and the pain of…

 _This…is also in case we get separated again._ She switched legs and took a breath, face nearly touching the floor in an allusion of privacy. No one could hear them, but this was a difficult subject she’d rather have in private.  _Last time I wasn’t strong enough to reach you… I nearly died._

It was true. What if it _did_ happen again? All it took was the wrong kind of noise and poof, weak human desperately trying to reach separated blob of goo.

 ** _Not goo, Evie. Symbiote._** Venom shifted down to settle protectively in her chest around her heart, calming her recollection of fear **. _We’re still sorry, about that day. We failed you. Won’t let you get hurt again._** Remembering the horror he felt when Riot pierced her chest created a shudder that permeated their shared brain.

Evie placed a hand over the long-healed wound and smiled softly. _I know bud. It’s all ok now._

**_But you still need to do this “gym”, yes? To be strong with me?_ **

_Yeah. Helps me feel more confident about the future. Helps me stay healthy too._

Sensing her companion about to argue, she held out a hand to stop him. To anyone else she just appeared to be balancing herself as she stood up.

 _I know you take care of our physical health, and that’s beyond great, but still I want to do this. I_ need  _to do this._ She picked up the two kettle bells again and started a set of walking lunges, choosing to ignore the burning in her thighs.  

 ** _Evie you know you can rely on our strength,_** he purred.

As proof, Venom let a few nearly unnoticeable tendrils wrap around her legs to assist, easing the discomfort and almost caressing her muscles.

 _Hey, we talked about you not doing that kind of thing here._ She quickly scanned the room. Phew, no one appeared to have seen. Since her workout leggings were black anyway, Venom was essentially invisible. But still it was defeating the whole purpose of her being there. Using their shared connection, she mentally pushed Venom away from her knees and back under her skin to fully hide him. Doing small things like that had gotten easier for her lately. However, she wondered if Venom was simply more compliant to her requests now.

 _Yes, you’re strong,_ Evie continued, _but I’m still weak in comparison. I don’t…I need to be strong on my own. Not always relying on us for physical strength…on you. And I don’t mean I don’t want your help, but this is something I need to do on my own._ Now at the opposite end of the room, she set the weights down and tried not to bang them on the floor. The attempt was unsuccessful. She put her sands on her hips and glared at the offending objects for a moment that lasted long enough to give her an idea. A stupidly obvious one.

_Hey, remember how you got me to eat right because it was something I needed to do to maintain my health?_

**_Yes_. **Venom shifted uncomfortable. It _was_ his idea they eat what was healthy for her species, but he still wasn’t happy about it _. **What about it?**_

_Well humans need to exercise too._

**_Oh…_** Venom paused, **_Well_ that  _I understand._**

Finally. She should have just lead with that.

**_Evie needs not just stupid food, but stupid meaningless physical activity too._ **

She snickered. _Hey it’s not stu—_

Their silent conversation was interrupted by the coach announcing the group’s next step, burpees. A lot of them.

_Fuck_

“Ok, I take that back. _This one_ is stupid”

* * *

“Ohhh ow,” Evie groaned from their bed the next day. The morning sun had awoken her, streaming in through her window despite the curtains best efforts. Every muscle in her body ached, especially the ones she didn’t know she had. She was used to feeling sore after a night of Venom’s citywide parkour, but this was so much worse. Even the air around her body hurt…was that even possible? Cross fit was not for the faint of heart.

Thank goodness it was the weekend, there was no way in hell she was about to get up anytime soon. But as usual, her constant companion had other ideas. 

 ** _Hungry_ , **he mumbled sleepily, woken up by his host’s discomfort.

“Well good morning to you too.” Evie said dryly while glancing at the clock “Only seven am? Really? Well, I think that calls for another few hours, no a few _days_ of sleep.”

 ** _Want breakfast._**  

 _Oh yeah? Well I want sleep._  

Groaning from discomfort, she pulled the sheets over her head to block out the light. “Night, Ven.”

Venom’s head materialized above her chest coming from her shoulder. “ **No time for sleeping. You had over the minimum amount for humans to function anyway.”** Using his teeth, he pulled back the sheets like a hungry puppy trying to wake its human.

Evie winced at the light once again trying to force its way between her eyelids and grabbed at the sheet. “Hey not cool! Besides, _I’m_ the human here. I think I know when I’ve had enough sleep.”

Venom ignored her, pulling the sheet even further out of her reach. **“Let’s go to that star money place for breakfast. Get eggs with bacon. Sit and judge people.”**

She just glared at him. That bastard knew exactly how to wake her up. 

Resigning her fate to wakefulness, Evie mentally held a short funeral service for the extra hour of sleep she could have had. On any other day, she would have leapt at the chance to get out of the apartment (relaxing and beautiful as it was) and spend a few hours at her beloved coffee shop, her sacred grounds, _her Starbucks._

But not today. Not after yesterday’s workout. “Sorry Ven, I’m in no shape to move right now, let alone go out for breakfast.” She tried sitting up, but her abs screamed in pain. “See.” She fell back into the bed and shrugged. Oof, bad idea, even shrugging hurt today.

Venom scanned her body to discern which parts hurt the most. “ **I can fix that,”** he said nonchalantly before beginning to send anti-pain chemicals to her brain. His usual way of “fixing” pain.

Evie held an arm up to stop him, and grimaced. “Hey wait, maybe not today?”

Venom halted his efforts, squinting at the girl. **“But this is how we get better. You hurt, I fix. Simple.”** He said it slowly, as if explaining something obvious to a child.

“True, that’s usually how we do things, but I don’t think it’s wise after a workout,” with no small amount of effort, she sat up to be at his eye level and sighed. “My muscles need a chance to adjust. Not sure numbing the pain with chemicals is a good idea right now.”

After a few seconds, the symbiote rolled his eyes at yet another stupid human request.  **“Fine then. But we still have to do something about this,”** Venom wrapped some tendrils gently around her waist where her abs were hurting. “ **What does your species do then to stop the aching? It’s annoying. Like a constant buzzing.”**

Evie thought about it. “I guess some people get massages. But those can be expensive and that’s not something I’d want to spend money on,” she shrugged, forgetting what happened the first time, and winced yet again. _Dammit, I need to stop doing that._ “Plus letting a complete stranger get that close to me? No thanks.”

She then felt the symbiote lightly kneading on her stomach with his tendrils as a cat would with their paws. “Uh Ven…what are you doing?”

 **“ _I’m_ not a stranger, I can do this to make you better,” **he replied matter of factly.

It was true, they shared a body, so familiar touching wasn’t out of the ordinary for them. After several weeks, she had become comfortable with his moving about and didn’t even notice it that much anymore. Things like wrapping her shoulders when she got cold, encasing her hands when she forgot to put on an oven mitt, wrapping around her waist under a jacket just because he could, all of those actions felt normal to her. Him massaging her stomach should have also felt pretty normal compared to being completely covered in goo whenever Venom took over. 

And yet…this was different. Not bad, just…different. More intimate almost. 

Venom looked at her for permission to continue, but Evie wasn’t even sure what the appropriate response was when your alien bodymate offered to give you a massage. There was probably a WikiHow on the subject, but it wasn’t like she had the time to Google it. And the light kneading felt oh so good to her sore abs. 

Aw heck, what could go wrong?

Evie nodded her consent, “Ok Ven. A massage couldn’t hurt. Just…go easy ok? I’ve never really like massages.” 

Venom helped her turn over and lay on her stomach so he could have better access to her back muscles. “ **That’s because no one else knows what your body needs. I do.”**

Good grief, if her neighbors heard that they’d definitely get the wrong idea of what was going on. But her embarrassment over the unintentional innuendo quickly faded as Venom began massaging her shoulders with ribbons of goo. He wasn’t just massaging the surface either; his tendrils were going _through_ the skin to get at her actual muscles too. It was one of the weirdest sensations Evie ever experienced and it felt heavenly. 

 _Fuck yeah._  

She gave a sigh of relief and hugged the pillow under her head, nestling her face into the soft plush. Closing her eyes as she relished in the attention her overworked muscles obviously needed, she felt content. 

Too content perhaps.

Not even realizing it, Evie was making little sounds of relief with every movement. It would have been embarrassing if anyone other than Venom was causing them. 

 **“Good?”** He was grinning and she didn’t even have to look to know. She could feel it, just as he could feel her soreness melt away. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Yeah, thanks Ven. This feels so, _sooo_ great.” Evie’s voice was half muffled by the pillow. “Can you do my legs and arms too?”

Venom shifted to cover more area. He thought his host’s behavior was completely adorable…at least for a human. It became almost a game to see what response massaging certain muscles elicited. It pleased him that he could have that level of effect on her, and it made him feel valued. He liked being the one to take care of her.

Being very possessive by nature, it took a lot to hold back his instincts. Which he did, and on a daily basis. Sometimes it felt exhausting to even stop himself from snapping at little things like their neighbor’s offer to help Evie carry groceries up to the apartment. And as much as she tried to convince him otherwise, his host wanting to build her strength without his help felt like a refusal. A refusal of not just his help, but _them,_ their symbiotic bond. 

By human terms, he would be considered insecure, and maybe he was. Venom could justify his emotions all he wanted by convincing himself they were only due to Klyntars needing to form strong bonds with their hosts…but that wasn’t entirely true. Many others from his planet formed weak bonds with a strong host and would battle for dominance. All they really needed was a host that was at least physically compatible. No one else sought out a deeper connection, an emotional one.

As for the connection he and Evie had, Venom knew it was more. He didn’t want to put a name to it, but nevertheless, what they had together was more than he ever hoped to have with a host. So he would have to overcome his insecurity, regardless of whether he wanted to or not.

It would be a lie to say Evie’s desire to build her own strength without his help hurt him, but deep down he knew they were ok. Their bond was unbreakable. If Evie needed to build up strength, she had every right to do so. He would help in any way he could. So this, doing something for her no one else was allowed to do, was perfect. Every touch, every caress, was a promise of safety, of his vow to be there for her. To help her when she needed help, and to step back when she didn’t. To him, it felt like reaffirming their bond.

~~~

Evie was a puddle of mush by the time Venom was done. Every single cell in her body was in a state of utter relaxation. Drugs? No thanks, try symbiosis massage. Still holding the pillow, she soon fell asleep, completely oblivious to the emotional revelations her companion was going through.

Satisfied that he had done his job correctly (and that the buzzing was now completely gone), Venom let his host nap a bit. He just stayed there for a moment hovering over her, observing her breathing slow.

Sometimes he forgot just how small she was. So fragile. All it took was an hour of exercising the day before to put her into such a state of pain. If he wasn’t there to help, she would have just gone about her day dealing with the discomfort, not being able to instantly heal herself like he could. The thought of her remaining in pain stressed him out. 

Venom grabbed a spare blanket from the floor and pulled it up to her shoulders, letting a few tendrils brush the hair away from her face. Evie leaned into his touch and gently sighed. He laid his head down next to hers and listened to her heartbeat. It was his favorite sound.

~~~

After a short nap, Evie woke up feeling better and more secure than she had in months. She stretched her arms above her head experimentally. It was like she had never been sore, which was saying an awful lot. Venom really knew how to give a great massage. Speaking of whom…

“Hey Venom?”

“ **—Y..yes?”** He startled, his head very close to her own. A strange emotion flashed across his face. Was it… embarrassment?

In that moment, she could have sworn he looked guilty. Like he got caught doing something he shouldn’t. A quick glance around her room told her he didn’t mess up anything. Hm, she must have imagined it.

“Seriously, whatever it was you did really worked. I’m feeling so much better right now. Thank you for that,” She beamed at him, and a part of her was looking forward to her next workout if the day after ended up going the same way. “Still want to go grab some breakfast? You wanted Starbucks, right?”

Whatever had been occupying Venom’s thoughts was quickly forgotten with the mention of food. His eyes practically sparkled, “ **Yes, and egg circles with bacon on them!”**

Evie laughed as she got out of bed. “Ok, one order of bacon egg bites it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this oneshot came about because the morning after I went to cross fit the first time in my non-athletic life, I legit thought I would need to go to the hospital because my muscles hurt so badly. A symbiote pal with pain-numbing abilities sure could have come in handy then.  
> And another fun fact is that after going to cross fit for two months, just when things were getting easier, I twisted my knee and now my wrist also hurts like a mother and I have to wear a wrist brace 24/7. Yay. So no, cross fit is not for the faint of heart at all. Definitely plan to write about injuries like those GETTING HEALED ASAP in my main fic so I can live vicariously.


End file.
